Image surveillance and reporting technology

ABSTRACT

Image surveillance and reporting technology, in which an event that is indicative of potential physical activity within an area corresponding to a location of a camera unit is detected. In response to detection of the event, the camera unit is controlled to capture one or more images of the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit. The one or more images captured by the camera unit are analyzed to determine whether the one or more images include image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit. The one or more images are handled based on the determination of whether the one or more images include image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity within the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/148,124, filed Oct. 1, 2018, now allowed, which is a continuation ofU.S. application Ser. No. 14/873,508, filed Oct. 2, 2015, now U.S. Pat.No. 10,089,843, issued Oct. 2, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/200,524, filed Mar. 7, 2014, U.S. Pat. No.9,153,111, issued Oct. 6, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 12/893,162, filed Sep. 29, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No.8,675,066, issued Mar. 18, 2014, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/248,263, filed Oct. 2, 2009. All of theseprior applications are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to image surveillance and reporting technology.

BACKGROUND

Many people equip homes and businesses with alarm systems to provideincreased security for their homes and businesses. Alarm systems mayinclude control panels that a person may use to control operation of thealarm system and sensors that monitor for security breaches. In responseto an alarm system detecting a security breach, the alarm system maygenerate an audible alert and, if the alarm system is monitored by amonitoring service, the alarm system may send electronic data to themonitoring service to alert the monitoring service of the securitybreach.

SUMMARY

Techniques are described for image surveillance and reportingtechnology.

Implementations of the described techniques may include hardware, amethod or process implemented at least partially in hardware, or acomputer-readable storage medium encoded with executable instructionsthat, when executed by a processor, perform operations.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will beapparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate example systems.

FIGS. 3, 5, and 7 are flow charts illustrating example processes.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of triggering a camera unit to captureimages.

FIG. 6 illustrates example comparisons to a reference image.

FIGS. 8A-8C illustrate an example of determining whether and how totransmit images to a remote monitoring server based on security systemevents.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Techniques are described for providing visual surveillance and reportingusing a system that monitors a building (e.g., a home alarm system). Insome implementations, broadband Internet connections may not beavailable or may be complex to configure for the system. In theseimplementations, the system may capture static images, rather thanmotion-video, of activity on a customer property being monitored by thesystem. The static images may be transmitted over relatively expensivenetwork connections (e.g., cellular and/or satellite) more affordablythan transmitting live or recorded video. The system may use the staticimages to provide cost-effective solutions for visual surveillance andreporting.

In some examples, a service provides images of activity at a user'sproperty. The service may include a “local system” component comprisedof a controller and one or more cameras that capture digital images ofan area when activity is detected in the area. The controller may beintegrated with an intrusion security system and leverage informationobserved by the intrusion security system (e.g., the alarm system state,such as armed/disarmed, in alarm, etc.) in controlling the one or morecameras that capture digital images. The service also may include acustomer portal that provides customer access to the images captured bythe one or more cameras.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an electronic system 100 configured toprovide image surveillance and reporting. The system 100 includes acamera unit 110, a gateway 120, a remote monitoring server 130, and oneor more user devices 140. The camera unit 110 is a relatively small andaffordable unit that captures still images of an area that correspondsto a location of the camera unit. Because the camera unit 110 isrelatively small, runs off of battery power, and communicates via awireless communication protocol, the camera unit 110 may be easilyplaced at any location within a monitored property (or just outside of amonitored property) to provide image surveillance of an area of themonitored property (or an area just outside of the monitored property).

The camera unit 110 includes a processor 111, a memory 112, a camera113, an illumination source 114, a motion sensor 115, an illuminationsensor 116, a battery 117, and an input/output port 118. The processor111 controls operations of the camera unit 110 and may be any suitableprocessor. The memory 112 stores instructions that are executed by theprocessor 111 and also stores images captured by the camera 113. Thememory 112 may be any type of memory that is capable storing data andmay include a combination of multiple, memory units. For example, thememory 112 may be a Flash memory component that stores both instructionsthat are executed by the processor and images captured by the camera113.

The camera 113 captures images of an area proximate to where the cameraunit is located. For instance, the camera 113 may be placed at an uppercorner of a room in a building and, in this instance, the camera 113captures images of the room. The camera 113 may be a video/photographiccamera or other type of optical sensing device configured to captureimages. In some implementations, the camera 113 is a CMOS camera sensor(or other CCD sensor) that captures images at various, differentresolutions. For instance, the CMOS camera sensor may capture up to640×480 pixels (e.g., VGA resolution). The camera 113 also may capture alower resolution image (e.g., Quarter VGA=QVGA=320×240 pixels).

The illumination source 114 may be any source of illumination thatimproves capturing of images in a dark area. For example, theillumination source 114 may include one or more Infra Red LEDs that emitInfra Red light over an area within a field of view of the camera 113 toilluminate objects within the area. The processor 111 may control theillumination source 114 to emit light when the illumination sensor 116detects a level of light that is below a threshold level.

The motion sensor 115 may be Passive Infra Red (PIR) motion sensor, amicrowave motion sensor, or any type of sensor that detects motion in anarea corresponding to a field of view of the camera 113. The processor111 may monitor output of the motion sensor 115 and trigger the camera113 to capture images in response to the motion sensor 115 detectingmotion in the area corresponding to the field of view of the camera 113.

The battery 117 is the power source of the camera unit 110 and may beany type of battery capable of delivering power to the camera unit 110.The battery 117 may have a relatively small size and may be a standardtype of battery available for purchase at retail stores. The battery 117may be located in a compartment that is easily accessible to a user ofthe camera unit 110 to facilitate changing of the battery 117, which mayoccur relatively frequently (e.g., every couple of months) depending onthe power consumption and image capture settings of the camera unit 110.

The input/output port 118 is a communication interface through which thecamera unit may send and receive wireless communications. Theinput/output port 118 may, using a short range wireless protocol (e.g.,Bluetooth, Z-Wave, ZigBee, local wireless 900 MHz communication band,etc.), receive and send short range wireless communications with otherdevices, such as the gateway 120. The input/output port 118 may includea “normally open” or “normally closed” digital input that can triggercapture of images using the camera 113.

To reduce processing power needed and to conserve battery life, theprocessor 111 may control components of the camera unit 110 toperiodically enter sleep mode operation. For example, the processor 111may awaken every second to determine whether any communications havebeen received at the input/output port 118. If no communications havebeen received, the processor 111 may place itself and other components(e.g., the memory 112, the camera 113, etc.) in a sleep mode for anothersecond before awaking again to determine whether any communications havebeen received at the input/output port 118. The processor 111 also mayawaken from a sleep mode state based on output from the motion sensor115 indicating that motion has been detected.

In some implementations, the processor 111 of the camera unit 110conserves battery power and costs of data transmission by analyzingreduced resolution versions of images captured by the camera 113 forrelevant or interesting activity before sending the images to thegateway 120. In these implementations, the processor 111 may wait for anevent detected by the motion sensor 115 and, in response to the event,control the camera 113 to capture a full resolution image (e.g., VGAresolution at 640×480 pixels). The processor 111 then extracts reducedresolution luminance data from the full resolution image (e.g., 80×60pixels for 4800 data points) and searches the reduced resolutionluminance data for motion that is limited roughly to a quarter of thetotal image area. If the processor 111 finds motion that is limitedroughly to a quarter of the total image area, the processor 111 extractsthe QVGA region from the original, full resolution VGA image and sendsonly that portion to the gateway 120. If the processor 111 does not findmotion that is limited roughly to a quarter of the total image area, theprocessor 111 analyzes any motion within the total image area todetermine whether the motion is indicative or relevant/interestingactivity. If the processor 111 determines that the motion is indicativeor relevant/interesting activity, the processor 111 sends the QVGAversion of the full image to the gateway 120. If the processor 111determines that no motion exists or the motion is not indicative orrelevant/interesting activity, the processor 111 discards the imagewithout transmitting it to the gateway 120.

In some examples, the camera unit 110 offers plug and play installation,where the gateway 120 dynamically discovers the camera unit 110 andbegins interacting with the camera unit 110. The camera unit 110 alsomay be controlled locally through a local control input device (e.g., anon/off button or a capture image button) or a gesture. For instance, auser may perform a gesture in front of the camera unit 110 to controlthe camera unit 110 to enter an off state in which images are notcaptured.

In some implementations, the camera unit 110 may include tamper alertmechanisms. In these implementations, the camera unit 110 may analyzeimages captured by the camera unit 110 to determine whether the camerahas been covered. For instance, the camera unit 110 may detect coveringwhen several captured images are completely dark (or entirely a singlecolor) when the illumination sensor 116 indicates that the area withinthe field of view of the camera 113 is illuminated or the illuminationsource 114 was used when the images were captured. Further, the cameraunit 110 may include an accelerometer that detects movement of thecamera unit 110 or may detect movement of the camera unit 110 based onimages captured by the camera unit 110. The camera unit 110 may send analert to the gateway 120 when the camera unit 110 detects covering ormovement and the gateway 120 may relay the alert to the remotemonitoring server 130 so that action to address the potential tamperingcan be taken.

The gateway 120 is a communication device configured to exchange shortrange wireless communications with the camera unit 110 over thecommunication link 125 and long range wireless communications with theremote monitoring server 130 over the network 135. Because the gateway120 exchanges short range wireless communications with the camera unit110, the gateway 120 is positioned nearby the camera unit 110. As shownin FIG. 1, the gateway 120 and the camera unit 110 are both locatedwithin a monitored property that is remote (and may be very far awayfrom) the remote monitoring server 130.

In some examples, the gateway 120 may include a wireless communicationdevice configured to exchange long range communications over a wirelessdata channel. In this example, the gateway 120 may transmit header dataand image data over a wireless data channel. The gateway 120 may includeone or more of a GSM module, a radio modem, cellular transmissionmodule, or any type of module configured to exchange communications inone of the following formats: GSM or GPRS, CDMA, EDGE or EGPRS, EV-DO orEVDO, or UMTS.

The gateway 120 includes a buffer memory 122 that stores image datacaptured by the camera unit 110. The buffer memory 122 may temporarilystore image data captured by the camera unit 110 to delay a decision ofwhether the image data (or a subset of the image data) is worthwhile tosend to the remote monitoring server 130. The buffer memory 122 may belarger than the memory 112 of the camera unit 110 and, because thegateway 120 operates using an AC power source, using the buffer memory122 to store images captured by the camera unit 110 may be moreefficient. The gateway 120 also may include a display with which thestored images may be displayed to a user.

The long range wireless network 135 enables wireless communicationbetween the gateway 120 and the remote monitoring server 130. The longrange wireless network 135 may be any type of cellular network and maysupport any one or more of the following protocols: GSM or GPRS, CDMA,EDGE or EGPRS, EV-DO or EVDO, or UMTS. It may be relatively expensive totransmit data over the long range wireless network 135 and, therefore,the camera unit 110 and the gateway 120 may be selective in the imagedata transmitted to the remote monitoring server 130.

The remote monitoring server 130 receives image data from the gateway120 over the long range wireless network 135. The remote monitoringserver 130 stores the received image data and makes the image dataavailable to one or more user devices 140 over the IP-based network 145.For instance, the remote monitoring server 130 may make the image dataavailable to the one or more user devices 140 at a website accessible bythe one or more user devices 140 over the Internet. The remotemonitoring server 130 also may make the image data available to the oneor more user devices 140 in an electronic message, such as an electronicmail message.

In some implementations, the remote monitoring server 130 receives theimage data from the gateway 120 as a reference image and a series ofdifferential images that indicate the difference between thecorresponding image and the reference image. In these implementations,header information sent with the image data indicates which images arereference images, which images are differential images, and whichreference image each differential image corresponds to. The remotemonitoring server 130 processes the reference image and the differentialimages and converts each image into a standard image format, such asJPEG The remote monitoring server 130 then stores the converted imagesin a database or a file system and makes the converted images availableto the one or more user devices 140.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an electronic system 200 configured toprovide visual surveillance and reporting. The electronic system 200includes a network 205, a monitoring system control unit 210, one ormore user devices 240, 250, and a monitoring application server 260. Insome examples, the network 205 facilitates communications between themonitoring system control unit 210, the one or more user devices 240,250, and the monitoring application server 260.

The network 205 is configured to enable exchange of electroniccommunications between devices connected to the network 205. Forexample, the network 205 may be configured to enable exchange ofelectronic communications between the monitoring system control unit210, the one or more user devices 240, 250, and the monitoringapplication server 260. The network 205 may include, for example, one ormore of the Internet, Wide Area Networks (WANs), Local Area Networks(LANs), analog or digital wired and wireless telephone networks (e.g., apublic switched telephone network (PSTN), Integrated Services DigitalNetwork (ISDN), a cellular network, and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)),radio, television, cable, satellite, or any other delivery or tunnelingmechanism for carrying data. Network 205 may include multiple networksor subnetworks, each of which may include, for example, a wired orwireless data pathway. The network 205 may include a circuit-switchednetwork, a packet-switched data network, or any other network able tocarry electronic communications (e.g., data or voice communications).For example, the network 205 may include networks based on the Internetprotocol (IP), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), the PSTN,packet-switched networks based on IP, X.25, or Frame Relay, or othercomparable technologies and may support voice using, for example, VoIP,or other comparable protocols used for voice communications. The network205 may include one or more networks that include wireless data channelsand wireless voice channels. The network 205 may be a wireless network,a broadband network, or a combination of networks including a wirelessnetwork and a broadband network.

The monitoring system control unit 210 includes a controller 212 and anetwork module 214. The controller 212 is configured to control amonitoring system (e.g., a home alarm or security system) that includesthe monitoring system control unit 210. In some examples, the controller212 may include a processor or other control circuitry configured toexecute instructions of a program that controls operation of an alarmsystem. In these examples, the controller 212 may be configured toreceive input from sensors, detectors, or other devices included in thealarm system and control operations of devices included in the alarmsystem or other household devices (e.g., a thermostat, an appliance,lights, etc.). For example, the controller 212 may be configured tocontrol operation of the network module 214 included in the monitoringsystem control unit 210.

The network module 214 is a communication device configured to exchangecommunications over the network 205. The network module 214 may be awireless communication module configured to exchange wirelesscommunications over the network 205. For example, the network module 214may be a wireless communication device configured to exchangecommunications over a wireless data channel and a wireless voicechannel. In this example, the network module 214 may transmit alarm dataover a wireless data channel and establish a two-way voice communicationsession over a wireless voice channel. The wireless communication devicemay include one or more of a GSM module, a radio modem, cellulartransmission module, or any type of module configured to exchangecommunications in one of the following formats: GSM or GPRS, CDMA, EDGEor EGPRS, EV-DO or EVDO, UMTS, or IP.

The network module 214 also may be a wired communication moduleconfigured to exchange communications over the network 205 using a wiredconnection. For instance, the network module 214 may be a modem, anetwork interface card, or another type of network interface device. Thenetwork module 214 may be an Ethernet network card configured to enablethe monitoring system control unit 210 to communicate over a local areanetwork and/or the Internet. The network module 214 also may be avoiceband modem configured to enable the alarm panel to communicate overthe telephone lines of Plain Old Telephone Systems (POTS).

The monitoring system that includes the monitoring system control unit210 includes one or more sensors or detectors. For example, themonitoring system may include multiple sensors 220. The sensors 220 mayinclude a contact sensor, a motion sensor, a glass break sensor, or anyother type of sensor included in an alarm system or security system. Thesensors 220 also may include an environmental sensor, such as atemperature sensor, a water sensor, a rain sensor, a wind sensor, alight sensor, a smoke detector, a carbon monoxide detector, an airquality sensor, etc. The sensors 220 further may include a healthmonitoring sensor, such as a prescription bottle sensor that monitorstaking of prescriptions, a blood pressure sensor, a blood sugar sensor,a bed mat configured to sense presence of liquid (e.g., bodily fluids)on the bed mat, etc. In some examples, the sensors 220 may include aradio-frequency identification (RFID) sensor that identifies aparticular article that includes a pre-assigned RFID tag.

The monitoring system control unit 210 communicates with the module 222and the camera 230 to perform visual surveillance or monitoring. Themodule 222 is connected to one or more lighting systems and isconfigured to control operation of the one or more lighting systems. Themodule 222 may control the one or more lighting systems based oncommands received from the monitoring system control unit 210. Forinstance, the module 222 may cause a lighting system to illuminate anarea to provide a better image of the area when captured by a camera230.

The camera 230 may be a video/photographic camera or other type ofoptical sensing device configured to capture images. For instance, thecamera 230 may be configured to capture images of an area within abuilding monitoring by the monitoring system control unit 210. Thecamera 230 may be configured to capture single, static images of thearea and also video images of the area in which multiple images of thearea are captured at a relatively high frequency (e.g., thirty imagesper second). The camera 230 may be controlled based on commands receivedfrom the monitoring system control unit 210.

The camera 230 may be triggered by several different types oftechniques. For instance, a Passive Infra Red (PIR) motion sensor may bebuilt into the camera 230 and used to trigger the camera 230 to captureone or more images when motion is detected. The camera 230 also mayinclude a microwave motion sensor built into the camera and used totrigger the camera 230 to capture one or more images when motion isdetected. The camera 230 may have a “normally open” or “normally closed”digital input that can trigger capture of one or more images whenexternal sensors (e.g., the sensors 220, PIR, door/window, etc.) detectmotion or other events. In some implementations, the camera 230 receivesa software command to capture an image when external devices detectmotion. The camera 230 may receive the software command from thecontroller 212 or directly from one of the sensors 220.

In some examples, the camera 230 triggers integrated or externalilluminators (e.g., Infra Red, Z-wave controlled “white” lights, lightscontrolled by the module 222, etc.) to improve image quality when thescene is dark. An integrated or separate light sensor may be used todetermine if illumination is desired and may result in increased imagequality.

The camera 230 may be programmed with any combination of time/dayschedules, system “arming state”, or other variables to determinewhether images should be captured or not when triggers occur. The camera230 may enter a low-power mode when not capturing images. In this case,the camera 230 may wake periodically to check for inbound messages fromthe controller 212. The camera 230 may be powered by internal,replaceable batteries if located remotely from the monitoring controlunit 210. The camera 230 may employ a small solar cell to recharge thebattery when light is available. Alternatively, the camera 230 may bepowered by the controller's 212 power supply if the camera 230 iscollocated with the controller 212.

The sensors 220, the module 222, and the camera 230 communicate with thecontroller 212 over communication links 224, 226, and 228. Thecommunication links 224, 226, and 228 may be a wired or wireless datapathway configured to transmit signals from the sensors 220, the module222, and the camera 230 to the controller 212. The sensors 220, themodule 222, and the camera 230 may continuously transmit sensed valuesto the controller 212, periodically transmit sensed values to thecontroller 212, or transmit sensed values to the controller 212 inresponse to a change in a sensed value.

The communication link 228 over which the camera 230 and the controller212 communicate may include a local network. The camera 230 and thecontroller 212 may exchange images and commands over the local network.The local network may include 802.11 “WiFi” wireless Ethernet (e.g.,using low-power WiFi chipsets), Z-Wave, Zigbee, Bluetooth, “Homeplug” orother “Powerline” networks that operate over AC wiring, and a Category 5(CAT5) or Category 6 (CAT6) wired Ethernet network.

The monitoring application server 260 is an electronic device configuredto provide monitoring services by exchanging electronic communicationswith the monitoring system control unit 210 and the one or more userdevices 240, 250 over the network 205. For example, the monitoringapplication server 260 may be configured to monitor events generated bythe monitoring system control unit 210. In this example, the monitoringapplication server 260 may exchange electronic communications with thenetwork module 214 included in the monitoring system control unit 210 toreceive information regarding alarm events detected by the monitoringsystem control unit 210. The monitoring application server 260 also mayreceive information regarding events from the one or more user devices240, 250.

The monitoring application server 260 may store sensor and image datareceived from the monitoring system and perform analysis of sensor andimage data received from the monitoring system. Based on the analysis,the monitoring application server 260 may communicate with and controlaspects of the monitoring system control unit 210 or the one or moreuser devices 240, 250.

The one or more user devices 240, 250 are devices that host and displayuser interfaces. For instance, the user device 240 is a mobile devicethat hosts one or more native applications (e.g., the nativesurveillance application 242). The user device 240 may be a cellularphone or a non-cellular locally networked device with a display. Theuser device 240 may include a cell phone, a smart phone, a tablet PC, apersonal digital assistant (“PDA”), or any other portable deviceconfigured to communicate over a network and display information. Forexample, implementations may also include Blackberry-type devices (e.g.,as provided by Research in Motion), electronic organizers, iPhone-typedevices (e.g., as provided by Apple), iPod devices (e.g., as provided byApple) or other portable music players, other communication devices, andhandheld or portable electronic devices for gaming, communications,and/or data organization. The user device 240 may perform functionsunrelated to the monitoring system, such as placing personal telephonecalls, playing music, playing video, displaying pictures, browsing theInternet, maintaining an electronic calendar, etc.

The user device 240 includes a native surveillance application 242. Thenative surveillance application 242 refers to a software/firmwareprogram running on the corresponding mobile device that enables the userinterface and features described throughout. The user device 240 mayload or install the native surveillance application 242 based on datareceived over a network or data received from local media. The nativesurveillance application 242 runs on mobile devices platforms, such asiPhone, iPod touch, Blackberry, Google Android, Windows Mobile, etc. Thenative surveillance application 242 enables the user device 240 toreceive and process image and sensor data from the monitoring system.

The user device 250 may be a general-purpose computer (e.g., a desktoppersonal computer, a workstation, or a laptop computer) that isconfigured to communicate with the monitoring application server 260and/or the monitoring system control unit 210 over the network 205. Theuser device 250 may be configured to display a surveillance monitoringuser interface 252 that is generated by the user device 250 or generatedby the monitoring application server 260. For example, the user device250 may be configured to display a user interface (e.g., a web page)provided by the monitoring application server 260 that enables a user toperceive images captured by the camera 230 and/or reports related to themonitoring system. Although FIG. 2 illustrates two user devices forbrevity, actual implementations may include more (and, perhaps, manymore) or fewer user devices.

In some implementations, the one or more user devices 240, 250communicate with and receive monitoring system data from the monitoringsystem control unit 210 using the communication link 238. For instance,the one or more user devices 240, 250 may communicate with themonitoring system control unit 210 using various local wirelessprotocols such as wifi, Bluetooth, zwave, zigbee, HomePlug (ethernetover powerline), or wired protocols such as Ethernet and USB, to connectthe one or more user devices 240, 250 to local security and automationequipment. The one or more user devices 240, 250 may connect locally tothe monitoring system and its sensors and other devices. The localconnection may improve the speed of status and control communicationsbecause communicating through the network 205 with a remote server(e.g., the monitoring application server 260) may be significantlyslower.

Although the one or more user devices 240, 250 are shown ascommunicating with the monitoring system control unit 210, the one ormore user devices 240, 250 may communicate directly with the sensors andother devices controlled by the monitoring system control unit 210. Insome implementations, the one or more user devices 240, 250 replace themonitoring system control unit 210 and perform the functions of themonitoring system control unit 210 for local monitoring and longrange/offsite communication.

In other implementations, the one or more user devices 240, 250 receivemonitoring system data captured by the monitoring system control unit210 through the network 205. The one or more user devices 240, 250 mayreceive the data from the monitoring system control unit 210 through thenetwork 205 or the monitoring application server 260 may relay datareceived from the monitoring system control unit 210 to the one or moreuser devices 240, 250 through the network 205. In this regard, themonitoring application server 260 may facilitate communication betweenthe one or more user devices 240, 250 and the monitoring system.

In some implementations, the one or more user devices 240, 250 may beconfigured to switch whether the one or more user devices 240, 250communicate with the monitoring system control unit 210 directly (e.g.,through link 238) or through the monitoring application server 260(e.g., through network 205) based on a location of the one or more userdevices 240, 250. For instance, when the one or more user devices 240,250 are located close to the monitoring system control unit 210 and inrange to communicate directly with the monitoring system control unit210, the one or more user devices 240, 250 use direct communication.When the one or more user devices 240, 250 are located far from themonitoring system control unit 210 and not in range to communicatedirectly with the monitoring system control unit 210, the one or moreuser devices 240, 250 use communication through the monitoringapplication server 260.

Although the one or more user devices 240, 250 are shown as beingconnected to the network 205, in some implementations, the one or moreuser devices 240, 250 are not connected to the network 205. In theseimplementations, the one or more user devices 240, 250 communicatedirectly with one or more of the monitoring system components and nonetwork (e.g., Internet) connection or reliance on remote servers isneeded.

In some implementations, the one or more user devices 240, 250 are usedin conjunction with only local sensors and/or local devices in a house.In these implementations, the system 200 only includes the one or moreuser devices 240, 250 and the sensors 220, the module 222, and thecamera 230. The one or more user devices 240, 250 receive data directlyfrom the sensors 220, the module 222, and the camera 230 and sends datadirectly to the sensors 220, the module 222, and the camera 230. The oneor more user devices 240, 250 provide the appropriateinterfaces/processing to provide visual surveillance and reporting.

In other implementations, the system 200 further includes network 205and the sensors 220, the module 222, and the camera 230 are configuredto communicate sensor and image data to the one or more user devices240, 250 over network 205 (e.g., the Internet, cellular network, etc.).In yet another implementation, the sensors 220, the module 222, and thecamera 230 (or a component, such as a bridge/router) are intelligentenough to change the communication pathway from a direct local pathwaywhen the one or more user devices 240, 250 are in close physicalproximity to the sensors 220, the module 222, and the camera 230 to apathway over network 205 when the one or more user devices 240, 250 arefarther from the sensors 220, the module 222, and the camera 230. Insome examples, the system leverages GPS information from the one or moreuser devices 240, 250 to determine whether the one or more user devices240, 250 are close enough to the sensors 220, the module 222, and thecamera 230 to use the direct local pathway or whether the one or moreuser devices 240, 250 are far enough from the sensors 220, the module222, and the camera 230 that the pathway over network 205 is required.In other examples, the system leverages status communications (e.g.,pinging) between the one or more user devices 240, 250 and the sensors220, the module 222, and the camera 230 to determine whethercommunication using the direct local pathway is possible. Ifcommunication using the direct local pathway is possible, the one ormore user devices 240, 250 communicate with the sensors 220, the module222, and the camera 230 using the direct local pathway. If communicationusing the direct local pathway is not possible, the one or more userdevices 240, 250 communicate with the sensors 220, the module 222, andthe camera 230 using the pathway over network 205.

In some implementations, the system 200 provides end users with accessto images captured by the camera 230 to aid in decision making. Thesystem 200 may transmit the images captured by the camera 230 over awireless WAN network to the user devices 240, 250. Because transmissionover a wireless WAN network may be relatively expensive, the system 200uses several techniques to reduce costs while providing access tosignificant levels of useful visual information.

For instance, the system 200 may employ monitoring schedules todetermine which periods of time when a recording device (e.g., thecamera 230) will be active. The monitoring schedules may be set based onuser input defining when users would like the recording device (e.g.,the camera 230) to be active. The monitoring schedules also may beautomatically set based on monitoring past activity related to thebuilding being monitored by the monitoring system. For example, when themonitoring system is a home alarm system, the monitoring system maydetect periods of time when users are typically at home and away fromhome and set monitoring schedules based on the detected periods of time.In this example, the monitoring system may set the recording device(e.g., the camera 230) to be active during time periods when users aredetected as typically being away from home.

In some implementations, a state of the monitoring system and otherevents sensed by the monitoring system may be used to enable/disablevideo/image recording devices (e.g., the camera 230). In theseimplementations, the camera 230 may be set to capture images on aperiodic basis when the alarm system is armed in an “Away” state, butset not to capture images when the alarm system is armed in a “Stay”state or disarmed. In addition, the camera 230 may be triggered to begincapturing images when the alarm system detects an event, such as analarm event, a door opening event for a door that leads to an areawithin a field of view of the camera 230, or motion in the area withinthe field of view of the camera 230. In other implementations, thecamera 230 may capture images continuously, but the captured images maybe stored or transmitted over a network based on the monitoringschedules discussed above.

In some examples, full-resolution, uncompressed images captured by thecamera 230 may be stored locally at the monitoring system. For instance,the full-resolution, uncompressed images may be saved in the camera 230on non-volatile memory or by transmitting the full-resolution,uncompressed images to the controller 212 for storage in non-volatilememory associated with the monitoring system control unit 210. Thestored images may be full quality JPEG images.

In examples in which full-resolution, uncompressed images are storedlocally at the monitoring system, if an image is captured during a timeperiod of interest, a reduced resolution and quality image may be sentfrom the local system to an end user device (e.g., the user device 240or the user device 250) for initial display to the user. The user thenmay retrieve the higher quality image (or information sufficient toconvert a reduced resolution image to a higher quality image) from thelocal system if desired.

In some implementations, users may choose to receive a text message (orother alert) or no notification at all (if real-time notification is notrequired) when images are recorded. When a user receives a text message(or other alert) that one or more images have been recorded, the usermay enter a command to retrieve the one or more images if desired. Theuser may choose the number of images and/or the resolution of imagesreceived. In these implementations, a system history tracks the time andcamera ID for recorded images and makes the system history available tousers for later review of images.

In some examples, the number and/or quality of images transmitted fromthe protected property to the customer may be limited by processes thatadjust certain variables to control the cost of transmitted data. Therecording rates may continue unaffected or may be decreased by theprocesses. Variables that dictate the number and/or quality of imagestransmitted may include a maximum number of images transmitted per houror day. For instance, a user may set the maximum number of imagestransmitted per hour or day and the system may stop transmitting imageswhen the maximum number is reached. The system also may be controlled towait a minimum time period between consecutive image transmissions. Inthis case, after transmitting a first image, the system may wait athreshold period of time prior to transmitting a second image, even if amonitoring schedule or detected event would otherwise suggest that animage should be transmitted.

The system also may apply increased compression, decreased resolution,or a longer delay between consecutive recordings to images from cameraswith a recent history of excessive triggers. For instance, the systemmay monitor how frequently cameras are being triggered within the systemand control individual cameras based on past triggering behavior for thecorresponding camera. The system also may solicit and receive feedbackfrom users related to the relevance of images captured by cameras thatare being triggered at a relatively high rate. For instance, the systemmay receive feedback from users indicating whether the triggers areappropriate (e.g., the images captured are of relevant user activity) orfalse triggers (e.g., the images captured represent no activity oractivity of something that is not desired to be monitored, such as a petor a waving window curtain). The system may continue to capture and/ortransmit images from an excessively triggering camera when the feedbackreveals that the images are of relevant activity, but stop capturingand/or transmitting images from an excessively triggering camera whenthe feedback reveals that the images are of irrelevant activity.

In some implementations, transmission rules may require that multiplevisual or non-visual (e.g. Passive Infra-Red motion detectors) sensorsdetect activity before an image is transmitted. In theseimplementations, the system may transmit an image when multiple sensorsdetect activity, but not when only a single sensor detects activity. Forinstance, the system may transmit an image when a Passive Infra-Redmotion detector integrated in the camera 230 detects motion and one ofthe sensors 220 detects an event around the same time (e.g., within athreshold period of time before or after the motion is detected). Thesystem may determine not to transmit an image when the Passive Infra-Redmotion detector integrated in the camera 230 detects motion, but none ofthe sensors 220 detect an event.

In some examples, video analytics processes may be used to differentiatebetween non-security activity such as pet movement, sunlight comingthrough curtains, etc. and interesting activity such as human movementin the field of view. These processes may be implemented directly in thecamera 230 or in the local controller 212 and may be used to determinewhether images are transmitted. For instance, images of activitydetected as being interesting are transmitted, whereas images ofactivity detected as being non-security activity are not transmitted.

FIGS. 3, 5, and 7 illustrate example processes. The operations of theexample processes are described generally as being performed by thesystem 100. The operations of the example processes may be performed byone of the components of the system 100 (e.g., the camera unit 110 orthe gateway 120) or may be performed by any combination of thecomponents of the system 100. In some examples, operations of theexample processes may be performed by one of the components of thesystem 200 or may be performed by any combination of the components ofthe system 200. In some implementations, operations of the exampleprocesses may be performed by one or more processors included in one ormore electronic devices.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example process 300 for handling images capturedby a camera unit based on image analysis to determine whether the imagesinclude image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity. Thesystem 100 detects an event that is indicative of potential physicalactivity within an area corresponding to a location of a camera unit(310). For example, the system 100 detects potential presence of aperson in the area corresponding to the location of the camera unitbased on output from one or more sensors. In this example, the system100 may detect potential presence of a person in the area correspondingto the location of the camera unit based on output from a motion sensor(e.g., a PIR motion sensor) embedded in the camera unit.

The system 100 also may detect potential presence of a person in thearea corresponding to the location of the camera unit based on output ofone or more sensors of a security system that monitors the areacorresponding to the location of the camera unit. For instance, thesystem 100 may detect a door sensor sensing that a door has been opened,a window sensor sensing that a window has been opened, and/or a motionsensor (e.g., another PIR motion sensor) detecting motion in the areacorresponding to the location of the camera unit. Any combination ofsensor events described throughout this disclosure may be used to detectpotential presence of a person in the area corresponding to the locationof the camera unit.

In some implementations, the system 100 requires detection of acombination of multiple events prior to detecting potential presence ofa person in the area corresponding to the location of the camera unit.For example, the system 100 may require detection of entry into aproperty based on a door or window sensor and then detection of motionby a motion sensor (e.g., a PIR motion sensor) embedded in the cameraunit before detecting an event that is indicative of potential physicalactivity within the area corresponding to the location of the cameraunit. In this example, the system 100 does not detect an event thattriggers the camera unit to capture images when the system 100 detectsentry into the property based on the door or window sensor, but does notdetect motion by the motion sensor embedded in the camera unit.Likewise, the system 100 does not detect an event that triggers thecamera unit to capture images when the system 100 detects motion by themotion sensor embedded in the camera unit, but does not detect priorentry into the property based on the door or window sensor. In thisregard, the system 100 only detects an event that triggers the cameraunit to capture images when the system 100 detects entry into theproperty based on the door or window sensor and then detects motion bythe motion sensor embedded in the camera unit.

In response to detection of the event, the system 100 controls thecamera unit to capture one or more images (320). For example, aprocessor in the camera unit may detect the event and cause a camera inthe camera unit to capture one or more images. In another example, asecurity system component (e.g., a security system control panel) maysend a command to the camera unit that causes the camera in the cameraunit to capture one or more images upon receipt.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of triggering a camera unit to captureimages. As shown, a property 405 of a user 410 is monitored by asecurity system, which includes a security system panel 420. Theproperty 405 also includes a camera unit 430 that communicates over ashort range wireless protocol with the security system panel 420. Thecamera unit 430 includes a processor 432, a Passive Infra Red (PIR)motion sensor 434, and a camera 436.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, the user 410 enters the property 405through a door and the security system panel 420 detects opening of thedoor based on output from a door sensor that senses whether the door isin an open or closed position. Based on detection of the door opening,the security system panel 420 sends a command to the camera unit 430.The command may indicate that a door opening has been detected or maysimply be a command to control the camera unit 430 to perform anoperation (e.g., a command to capture an image or a command to closelymonitor the PIR motion sensor 434 with heightened sensitivity).

The PIR motion sensor 434 also detects motion in the property 405 basedon the user 410 walking within an area corresponding to the location ofthe camera unit 430. The PIR motion sensor 434 provides output to theprocessor 432 indicating that motion has been detected.

The processor 432 processes the command sent by the security systempanel 420 in response to detecting the door opening event and the outputof the PIR motion sensor 434. For example, the processor 432 may controlthe camera 432 to capture a first image in response to receiving thecommand sent by the security system panel 420 in response to detectingthe door opening event and control the camera 432 to capture a secondimage in response to the output of the PIR motion sensor 434 indicatingthat motion has been detected.

In another example, the processor 432 may more closely monitor outputfrom the PIR motion sensor 434 with heightened sensitivity in responseto receiving the command sent by the security system panel 420 inresponse to detecting the door opening event. For instance, theprocessor 432 may check the output of the PIR motion sensor 434 morefrequently based on receiving the command sent by the security systempanel 420 in response to detecting the door opening event and/or maylower the sensitivity threshold used to detect motion based on theoutput of the PIR motion sensor 434. Then, based on the output of thePIR motion sensor 434 indicating that motion has been detected, theprocessor 432 may control the camera 436 to capture one or more images.The processor 432 also may control the camera 436 to capture one or moreimages based on the combination of receiving the command sent by thesecurity system panel 420 in response to detecting the door openingevent and the output of the PIR motion sensor 434 indicating that motionhas been detected.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the system 100 analyzes the one or moreimages to determine whether the one or more images include image datathat is indicative of relevant physical activity (330). For example, thesystem 100 may process the one or more images to detect whether objectsexist within the one or more images. When no objects exist in the one ormore images, the system 100 determines that the one or more images donot include image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity.When objects exist in the one or more images, the system 100 maydetermine that the one or more images include image data that isindicative of relevant physical activity.

In some implementations, the system 100 analyzes a size and shape ofdetected objects to determine whether the detected objects areindicative of relevant physical activity. In these implementations, forexample, the system 100 may compare the size and shape of the detectedobjects to a size and shape expected when a person is captured in theone or more images. When at least one of the detected objects has thesize and shape expected when a person is captured in the one or moreimages, the system 100 determines that the one or more images includeimage data that is indicative of relevant physical activity. When noneof the detected objects has the size and shape expected when a person iscaptured in the one or more images, the system 100 determines that theone or more images do not include image data that is indicative ofrelevant physical activity.

In some examples, the system 100 compares the one or more images to areference image of a background scene captured by the camera unit. Inthese examples, the system 100 considers differences between the one ormore images and the reference image to determine whether the one or moreimages include image data that is indicative of relevant physicalactivity. For instance, when the system 100 determines that nodifference exists between the one or more images and the referenceimage, the system 100 determines that the one or more images do notinclude image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity.

When the system 100 determines that difference exists between the one ormore images and the reference image, the system 100 analyzes thedifferences to determine whether the differences are significant. Forexample, the system 100 may analyze the number of differences, the levelof difference, and the shape of the differences in determining whetherthe one or more images include image data that is indicative of relevantphysical activity. In this example, when the system 100 detects smalldifferences globally throughout an image, the system 100 determines thatthe image does not include image data that is indicative of relevantphysical activity because the small differences are likely due to abackground change, such as the sun going behind a cloud, rather thanrelevant physical activity in the location corresponding to the cameraunit. Alternatively, when the system 100 detects large differenceslocally within an image, the system 100 determines that the imageincludes image data that is indicative of relevant physical activitybecause the large differences at a relatively small, localized portionof the image are likely caused by actual presence of an object in thelocation corresponding to the camera unit.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example process 500 for determining whether animage includes image data that is indicative of relevant physicalactivity. The process 500 may be performed in analyzing one or moreimages to determine whether the one or more images include image datathat is indicative of relevant physical activity, as described withrespect to reference numeral 330.

The system 100 extracts a subset of image data from an image captured bya camera unit (510). For example, the system 100 extracts reducedresolution image data from the image captured by the camera unit. Inthis example, the reduced resolution image data may only includeluminance data for the image. The luminance data may include a singleintensity value for each 8×8 pixel block within the image. The luminancedata may be extracted from the captured image without decompression (orwith less decompression).

In some implementations, the image captured by a camera unit may be animage with full VGA resolution of 640×480 pixels. In theseimplementations, the system 100 extracts reduced resolution luminancedata of 80×60 pixels from the full VGA resolution image.

By extracting only the subset of image data from the image captured bythe camera unit, the processing of the image data for relevant physicalactivity may be faster and more efficient. This may be particularlyhelpful when the image analysis is being performed by the camera unitbecause the camera unit has limitations in processing power, memory, andbattery life. Accordingly, making the image analysis faster and moreefficient may extend the battery life of the camera unit and may allowthe limited processor of the camera unit to perform the image analysisin an acceptable time frame. In addition, a more sensitive PIR motionsensor may be used in the camera unit because the camera unit is able toquickly and efficiently detect images that do not include image data ofrelevant physical activity.

The system 100 compares the extracted subset of image data to image datafrom a reference image captured by the camera unit (520). For instance,the system 100 takes differences between pixels in the extracted subsetof image data and corresponding pixels in a reference image that wascaptured by the camera unit that has the same type of image data as theextracted subset of image data. The reference image may be an imagecaptured by the camera unit just prior to the image being processed. Inthis case, the system 100 may maintain a rolling reference image thatrepresents a background scene just prior to the image under evaluation.

In some implementations, the system 100 may maintain one or morereference images in electronic storage. In these implementations, thesystem 100 may maintain a single reference image for each hour of theday and select the appropriate reference image to compare against theimage under evaluation based on the time of day the image was captured.The stored reference images may represent an average of images capturedat the particular time of day over the course of several days.

The system 100 also may compare a current background image (e.g., animage without relevant physical activity or motion) with a storedreference image. When the system 100 detects a large difference betweenthe current background image and the stored reference image, the system100 determines that a new reference image is needed and stores a newreference image. This may be helpful in detecting changes in thebackground of a scene, such as movement of a piece of furniture in thearea within the field of view of the camera.

In some examples, the system 100 may maintain a single reference imagein electronic storage. In these examples, the system 100 uses anillumination sensor to determine when a new reference image is needed.For instance, the system 100 may monitor a current level of light sensedby the illumination sensor with respect to a level of light sensed bythe illumination sensor when the most recent reference image wascaptured. When the system 100 detects that the current level of lighthas reached a threshold difference from the level of light sensed by theillumination sensor when the most recent reference image was captured,the system 100 determines that a new reference image is needed andcaptures a new reference image. Accordingly, in these examples, thesystem 100 is able to maintain a single reference image that isappropriate for the current illumination of the area corresponding tothe location of the camera.

The system 100 detects portions of the image that have a thresholddifference from corresponding portions of the reference image (530). Forexample, the system 100 compares differences between pixels in theextracted subset of image data and corresponding pixels in the referenceimage to a threshold and, based on the comparison, detects pixels wheremore than a threshold difference exists.

The system 100 determines whether the image includes image data that isindicative of relevant physical activity based on the detected portions(540). For instance, the system 100 considers how many pixels have athreshold difference with respect to the reference image. When fewpixels have a large difference, the system 100 determines that the imageincludes image data that is indicative of relevant physical activity.When many pixels have a small difference, the system 100 determines thatthe image does not include image data that is indicative of relevantphysical activity.

In some implementations, the system 100 may analyze the connectivity ofpixels that have a threshold difference. In these implementations, thesystem 100 determines that the image is more likely to include imagedata that is indicative of relevant physical activity when the detectedpixels have a high degree of connectivity and determines that the imageis less likely to include image data that is indicative of relevantphysical activity when the detected pixels have a low degree ofconnectivity.

The system 100 also may analyze the shape or cluster of pixels that havea threshold difference. For instance, the system 100 may determinewhether the shape or cluster is relatively large or relatively small andmay determine whether the shape or cluster matches a shape of an objectthat likely represents relevant physical activity or, alternatively,matches a shape of an object that likely does not represent relevantphysical activity.

In some examples, the system 100 may window into areas of the imagewhere threshold differences have been detected. In these examples, thesystem 100 may extract additional image data (e.g., higher resolutionimage data) for windows within the image where threshold differenceshave been detected in the subset of image data. The system 100 thenprocesses the additional image data to determine whether it isindicative of relevant physical activity. By extracting additional imagedata at only points of interest, the system 100 may be able to providemore accurate image analysis while still limiting the processing powerand battery power needed to perform the image analysis.

FIG. 6 illustrates example comparisons to a reference image. As shown,the filled pixels indicate pixels where a threshold difference between acurrent image and a reference image was detected and the unfilled pixelsindicate pixels where a threshold difference between a current image anda reference image was not detected. The pixel map 610 illustrates anexample of image in which relevant activity is not detected. Forexample, the system 100 may analyze the number and spacing of the pixelswhere the threshold difference between the current image and thereference image was detected. In this example, the system 100 detects arelatively high number of pixels as meeting the threshold difference andbeing spread relatively evenly across the pixel map 610. In thisexample, the system 100 determines that the image data is not indicativeof relevant activity and more likely represents a cloud placing by thefield of view of the camera or a gust of wind causing movement of manyobjects within an outdoor background scene. Accordingly, the system 100discards the image.

The pixel map 620 illustrates an example of image in which relevantactivity is detected. For example, the system 100 may analyze the numberand spacing of the pixels where the threshold difference between thecurrent image and the reference image was detected. In this example, thesystem 100 detects the pixels meeting the threshold difference as beingcompactly spaced in the shape of human being. In this example, thesystem 100 determines that the image data is indicative of relevantactivity (e.g., a human being moving within the area proximate to thecamera) and processes the image.

The pixel map 630 illustrates an example of image in which relevantactivity is not detected. For example, the system 100 may analyze thenumber and spacing of the pixels where the threshold difference betweenthe current image and the reference image was detected. In this example,the system 100 detects the pixels meeting the threshold difference asbeing compactly spaced in the shape of a pet. In this example, thesystem 100 determines that the image data is indicative of irrelevantactivity because it shows images of the user's pet and not an intruder.Accordingly, the system 100 discards the image. In making thedetermination, the system 200 may compare the pixel map 630 to areference pixel map of the user's pet to more accurately detect when acaptured image is of the user's pet. In other examples, the user may beinterested in images of the user's pet and the system 100 may detect theimage data as being indicative of relevant activity.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the system 100 handles the one or more imagescaptured by the camera unit based on the determination (340). Forexample, the system 100 discards the one or more images captured by thecamera unit based on a determination that the one or more imagescaptured by the camera unit do not include image data that is indicativeof relevant physical activity within the area corresponding to thelocation of the camera unit. In this example, when the image analysis isperformed by the camera unit itself, the one or more images arediscarded at the camera unit without using the power needed to transmitthe one or more images to a gateway. In addition, the system 100transmits, from the camera unit to the gateway, the one or more imagescaptured by the camera unit based on a determination that the one ormore images captured by the camera unit include image data that isindicative of relevant physical activity within the area correspondingto the location of the camera unit.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example process 700 for determining whether totransmit images to a remote monitoring server. The process 700 may beperformed in handling one or more images captured by the camera unitbased on a determination of whether the one or more images include imagedata that is indicative of relevant physical activity, as described withrespect to reference numeral 340.

The system 100 determines whether analysis of an image indicatesrelevant physical activity (710). For example, the system 100 determineswhether a captured image includes image data indicative of relevantphysical activity using the techniques described above with respect toreference numeral 330 and FIG. 5.

In response to a determination that the analysis of the image does notindicate relevant physical activity, the system 100 discards the image(715). For instance, the system 100 deletes the image withouttransmitting it to another device and without maintaining a copy of theimage in electronic storage.

In response to a determination that the analysis of the image indicatesrelevant physical activity, the system 100 accesses one or more rulesfor transmitting images to a remote monitoring server (720). Forexample, the system 100 may access one or more security system rulesthat control whether the image captured by the camera unit istransmitted from a gateway to a remote monitoring server based on one ormore events detected by a security system that monitors a propertyassociated with the area corresponding to the location of the cameraunit. In this example, the one or more security system rules may definesecurity system events that indicate whether the captured images areimportant. For instance, a security system rule may indicate that theimage should be transmitted if the security system detects an alarmevent and that the image should not be transmitted if the securitysystem does not detect an alarm event. A security system rule also mayindicate that the image should be transmitted if the security systemdetects activity within a property (e.g., through one or more of a doorsensor, a window sensor, and a motion sensor of the security system)that confirms motion detected by a motion sensor embedded in the cameraunit. The rule may require that the confirming activity be in a locationnearby the location of the camera unit. If the security system does notdetect activity within the property that confirms motion detected by themotion sensor embedded in the camera unit within a threshold period oftime, the rule indicates that the image should not be transmitted.

In some implementations, the system 100 may access one or moreuser-defined rules that control whether the one or more images capturedby the camera unit are transmitted from the gateway to the remotemonitoring server. In these implementations, the user-defined rules maycontrol transmission based on a number of images that have beentransmitted from the gateway to the remote monitoring server within aparticular period of time and/or an amount of data charges that havebeen incurred from transmission of data from the gateway to the remotemonitoring server within a particular period of time. For instance, auser may set a limit on the number of messages transmitted and/or theamount of costs incurred through transmission of image data.

In some examples, the accessed one or more rules may be a combination ofsecurity system rules and user-defined rules. In these examples, a rulemay set a limit on the number of messages transmitted and/or the amountof costs incurred through transmission of image data, unless thesecurity system detects an alarm event, in which case the limits areallowed to be exceeded.

The system 100 monitors security system events and/or user input withrespect to the one or more rules (730). For example, the system 100monitors for events detected by a security system that monitors theproperty associated with the area corresponding to the location of thecamera unit (e.g., door sensor events, motion sensor events, windowsensor events, alarm events, passcode entry events, etc.) and, based onthe monitoring, compares events detected by the security system to oneor more security system rules.

In addition, the system 100 may monitor for user input related totransmitting images to the remote monitoring server. For instance, thesystem 100 may monitor for user input requesting that captured images besent to the remote monitoring server. The user input may be provideddirectly to the camera or the gateway, or may be provided to the remotemonitoring server, which sends a command to the gateway to causetransmission of the captured images. In some implementations, the system100 may send a message to a device (e.g., mobile device) of a userassociated with the property to request whether the user would like thecaptured images transmitted to the remote monitoring server. The usercan respond by either authorizing transmission or decliningtransmission. The message also can indicate that additional fees arerequired for the transmission and ask the user to authorize theadditional fees if the user would like to transmit the image to theremote monitoring server where it can be viewed by the user. The messagefurther may indicate status of security system sensors to assist theuser in making the decision of whether or not to authorize transmissionof the image.

The system 100 determines whether to transmit the image to a remotemonitoring server based on application of the one or more rules to themonitored security system events and/or user input (740). For example,the system 100 determines whether to transmit the one or more imagescaptured by the camera unit from the gateway to the remote monitoringserver based on the comparison of the events detected by the securitysystem to one or more security system rules. In this example, if asecurity system rule indicates that the image should be transmitted ifthe security system detects an alarm event, the system 100 determineswhether an alarm event has been detected and, based on thatdetermination, determines to transmit the image when an alarm event hasbeen detected and determines not to transmit the image when an alarmevent has not been detected. If a security system rule indicates thatthe image should be transmitted if the security system detects activitywithin a property that confirms motion detected by a motion sensorembedded in the camera unit, the system 100 determines whetherconfirming activity has been detected and, based on that determination,determines to transmit the image when confirming activity has beendetected and determines not to transmit the image when confirmingactivity has not been detected.

In implementations in which user-defined rules exist, the system 100compares circumstances of the transmission with the user-defined rules.For instance, if a user-defined rule sets a limit on the number ofimages transmitted from the gateway to the remote monitoring serverwithin a month, the system 100 determines the number of images that havebeen transmitted from the gateway to the remote monitoring server withinthe past month and compares the determined number of images that havebeen transmitted from the gateway to the remote monitoring server withinthe past month to the limit. When the system 100 determines that thelimit has not been reached, the system 100 determines to transmit theimage and, when the system 100 determines that the limit has beenreached, the system 100 determines not to transmit the image. The system100 may consider cost of transmitting the image in a similar manner.

The system 100 also may consider user input related to transmitting theimage in determining whether to transmit the image. For instance, whenthe system 100 receives user input requesting/authorizing transmissionof the image, the system 100 determines to transmit the image. When thesystem 100 receives user input declining transmission of the image ordoes not receive any user input in response to requesting authorizationto transmit the image, the system 100 determines not to transmit theimage.

In some examples, the system 100 may analyze a combination of securitysystem rules and user-defined rules in making the determination ofwhether to transmit the image. In these examples, the system 100 maytransmit the image if a set limit on the number of images transmitted inthe past month has been exceeded, but the system 100 detects an alarmevent or the system 100 receives user input authorizing additional feesneeded to transmit the image.

In response to a determination to transmit the image to the remotemonitoring server, the system 100 transmits the image to the remotemonitoring server (745). For instance, the gateway transmits the imageto the remote monitoring server using a long range wirelesscommunication protocol.

In response to a determination not to transmit the image to the remotemonitoring server, the system 100 determines whether to discard theimage based on application of the one or more rules to the monitoredsecurity system events and/or user input (750). For example, the system100 may use techniques similar to those described above with respect toreference numeral 740 to determine whether to maintain the image instorage and continue monitoring for security system events and/or userinput. In this example, a security system rule may indicate that theimage should be transmitted if the security system detects an alarmevent. When the system 100 determines that an alarm event has not beendetected, but that the security system remains in a potential alarmstate (e.g., during an entry delay period in which a user can enter apasscode to deactivate the security system), the system 100 determinesto continue monitoring for an alarm event that would triggertransmission of the image. Alternatively, when the system 100 determinesthat an alarm event has not been detected and the security system hasentered a deactivated state (e.g., a proper passcode was entered todeactivate the security system), the system 100 determines to discardmessage and abort monitoring for security system events that wouldtrigger transmission of the image.

In another example, a user-defined rule may indicate that authorizationto transmit the image is needed because the monthly number and/or costof images has been exceeded. In this example, when the system 100 hasrequested authorization, but has not received a response, the system 100determines not to transmit the message and to continue monitoring forauthorization to transmit the image. Alternatively, when the system 100has requested authorization and received a response decliningauthorization, the system 100 determines to discard message and abortmonitoring for authorization to transmit the image.

In response to a determination to discard the image, the system 100discards the image (755). For instance, the system 100 deletes the imagefrom electronic storage of the gateway without transmitting it to theremote monitoring server.

In response to a determination not to discard the image, the system 100continues to monitor for security system events and/or user input withrespect to the one or more rules. For instance, the system 100 continuesto analyze detected security system events and any received user inputto determine whether any of the rules for transmitting the image ordiscarding the image have been satisfied.

FIGS. 8A-8C illustrate an example of determining whether and how totransmit images to a remote monitoring server based on security systemevents. As shown, a property 805 of a user 810 is monitored by asecurity system, which includes a security system panel 820. Theproperty 805 also includes a camera unit 830 that communicates over ashort range wireless protocol with the security system panel 820. Thesecurity system panel 820 also communicates with a remote monitoringserver 840 over a long range wireless communication channel. Because itis relatively expensive to transmit data over the long range wirelesscommunication channel, the security system panel 820 makes intelligentdecisions regarding when and how to send image data captured by thecamera unit 830 to the remote monitoring server 840. The security systempanel 820 uses detected security system events to determine when and howto send image data captured by the camera unit 830 to the remotemonitoring server 840.

In the example shown in FIG. 8A, the user 810 enters the property 805through a door when the security system is in an armed state and thesecurity system panel 820 detects opening of the door based on outputfrom a door sensor that senses whether the door is in an open or closedposition. Based on detection of the door opening when the securitysystem is in the armed state, the security system panel 820 sends acommand to the camera unit 830 and also starts an entry delay period inwhich the user 810 is able to enter a passcode to deactivate thesecurity system. The command may indicate that a door opening has beendetected or may simply be a command to control the camera unit 830 tocapture an image.

In response to receiving the command from the security system panel 820,the camera unit captures one or more still images of the property 805and transmits the captured images to the security system panel 820 overthe short range wireless protocol. In some implementations, as discussedthroughout this disclosure, the camera unit 830 may analyze the capturedimages to confirm that the captured images include image data indicativeof relevant/interesting activity prior to transmitting the capturedimages to the security system panel 820.

The security system panel 820 receives the captured images from thecamera unit 830 and stores the captured images in memory. The securitysystem panel 820 transmits, to the remote monitoring system 840, acompressed version of a subset of the captured images received from thecamera unit 830. For example, the security system panel 820 may receivemultiple images from the camera unit 830 and select a subset of theimages to transmit to the remote monitoring system 840 (e.g., only thefirst image, a series of images at a lower frequency than captured bythe camera unit 830, or the captured image that has the highestlikelihood of including relevant activity based on image analysis). Thesecurity system panel 820 then transmits the one or more selected imagesto the remote monitoring server 840 in a compressed format. In thisexample, the security system panel 820 transmits only a subset of thecaptured images in a compressed format to save costs of transmittingdata over the long range wireless communication channel because thesecurity system is still in the entry delay period in which an alarmevent has not been detected and the user 810 may still enter a passcodeto deactivate the security system. The security system panel 820transmits the subset of compressed images so that the remote monitoringserver 840, which is located separate from the property 805, receives atleast some image data in the event that an intruder enters the property805 and destroys the security system panel 820 prior to expiration ofthe entry delay period.

After transmitting the subset of compressed images, the security systempanel 820 monitors for entry of the passcode during the entry delayperiod to determine whether to send any additional image data to theremote monitoring server 840. In the example shown in FIG. 8B, the user810 does not provide a proper passcode to the security system panel 820prior to expiration of the entry delay period and the security systempanel 820 detects an alarm event based on expiration of the entry delayperiod without receiving a proper passcode. In response to detecting thealarm event, the security system panel 820 transmits, to the remotemonitoring sever 840, full versions of the image captured by the cameraunit 830. Because an alarm event has been detected and the imagescaptured by the camera unit 830 are likely to be important enough tojustify the cost of transmission to the remote monitoring server 840,the security system panel 820 transmits all of the image data to theremote monitoring server 840. In some examples, for the subset ofcompressed images transmitted to the remote monitoring server 840, thesecurity system panel 820 may transmit only the image data necessary tobring the compressed images to full resolution. Also, as describedthroughout this disclosure, the full image data may include a referenceimage and, for successive images, differential data that describes thedifferences between the successive images and the reference image.Transmitting the differential data may save costs of transmitting dataover the long range wireless communication channel when relatively smalldifferences exist between the images.

In addition to transmitting all of the image data to the remotemonitoring server 840, the security system panel 820 sends a command tothe camera unit 830. The command may indicate that an alarm event hasbeen detected or may simply be a command to control the camera unit 830to capture an image. In response to receiving the command from thesecurity system panel 820, the camera unit continues to capture one ormore still images of the property 805 and continues to transmit thecaptured images to the security system panel 820 over the short rangewireless protocol. In some implementations, the camera unit 830 maycapture images at a higher frequency after the alarm event has beendetected and/or may transmit all captured images to the security systempanel 820 without first analyzing the images to determine whether theimages include image data indicative of relevant/interesting activity.

In the example shown in FIG. 8C, the user 810 provides a proper passcodeto the security system panel 820 prior to expiration of the entry delayperiod and the security system panel 820 detects entry of the properpasscode and deactivates the security system. In response to detectingthe entry of the proper passcode, the security system panel 820determines not to transmit full versions of the images captured by thecamera unit 830 to the remote monitoring server 840. Because an alarmevent has not been detected, the images captured by the camera unit 830are likely not to be important enough to justify the cost oftransmission to the remote monitoring server 840. Accordingly, thesecurity system panel 820 discards all of the image data withouttransmitting additional image data to the remote monitoring server 840.In addition, the security system panel 820 sends a command to the cameraunit 830. The command may indicate that system has been disarmed or maysimply be a command to control the camera unit 830 to stop capturingimages. In response to receiving the command from the security systempanel 820, the camera unit stops capturing images of the property 805.

As illustrated by the example situations shown in FIGS. 8A-8C, thesecurity system panel 820 intelligently controls whether and how totransmit images to the remote monitoring server 840 based on additionalinformation detected by the security system. In this regard, thesecurity system panel 820 strikes a balance between the likelyimportance of the images captured by the camera unit 830 and the cost oftransmitting image data over the long range communication channel.

In some implementations, an alarm system and/or a camera unit engages intwo-way cellular communications with a back end monitoring server (e.g.,the remote monitoring server 130 or the monitoring application server260). In these implementations, the back end monitoring server collectsa vast amount of data from the alarm system about the property monitoredby the alarm system. For example, the back end monitoring server maymonitor alarm system and/or image data over relatively long periods oftime to derive typical arming schedules, typical property usageschedules, and/or false alarm/image schedules. In this example, the backend monitoring server may consider alarm system and/or image data fromthe monitored property alone, but also alarm system and/or image datafrom the many, different alarm systems managed by the back endmonitoring server. Further, the back end monitoring server may receiveuser input from users of the monitored property regarding the userspreferences related to receiving image data captured by the camera unit.Accordingly, the back end monitoring server is able to developsophisticated rules/metadata for use in controlling imagecapture/transfer based on the collected data about the property and/orthe user preferences.

In this regard, intelligence can be derived from the rules/metadata toexact more efficient camera behavior and affordable deployments. Forexample, the back end monitoring server may send a cellularcommunication to the alarm system and/or the camera unit to indicatewhen images should be transmitted and when they should not betransmitted based on the rules/metadata developed by the back endmonitoring server. In this example, the back end monitoring server alsomay transmit commands based on the rules/metadata to the alarm systemand/or the camera unit that cause updates to the image analysisprocesses used to determine whether an image does or does not includerelevant physical activity (e.g., use a higher threshold for detectingmotion during a time period that the back end monitoring server haslearned to be a time period where legitimate activity is typical or atime period where false alarms are relatively high and use a lowerthreshold for detecting motion during a time period that the back endmonitoring server has learned to be a time period where legitimateactivity is not typical or a time period where false alarms arerelatively low). Through the use of the rules/metadata and connection toback-end intelligence, an image service as described throughout thisdisclosure may be provided more efficiently via a cellular communicationchannel.

Described systems, methods, and techniques may be implemented in digitalelectronic circuitry, computer hardware, firmware, software, or incombinations of these elements. Apparatus implementing these techniquesmay include appropriate input and output devices, a computer processor,and a computer program product tangibly embodied in a machine-readablestorage device for execution by a programmable processor. A processimplementing these techniques may be performed by a programmableprocessor executing a program of instructions to perform desiredfunctions by operating on input data and generating appropriate output.The techniques may be implemented in one or more computer programs thatare executable on a programmable system including at least oneprogrammable processor coupled to receive data and instructions from,and to transmit data and instructions to, a data storage system, atleast one input device, and at least one output device. Each computerprogram may be implemented in a high-level procedural or object-orientedprogramming language, or in assembly or machine language if desired; andin any case, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language.Suitable processors include, for example, both general and specialpurpose microprocessors. Generally, a processor will receiveinstructions and data from a read-only memory and/or a random accessmemory. Storage devices suitable for tangibly embodying computer programinstructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory,including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, such asErasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically ErasableProgrammable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), and flash memory devices;magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks;magneto-optical disks; and Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM). Anyof the foregoing may be supplemented by, or incorporated in,specially-designed ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits).

It will be understood that various modifications may be made. Forexample, other useful implementations could be achieved if steps of thedisclosed techniques were performed in a different order and/or ifcomponents in the disclosed systems were combined in a different mannerand/or replaced or supplemented by other components. Accordingly, otherimplementations are within the scope of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method performed by one or more computers, themethod comprising: obtaining a set of images captured by a cameralocated in a property, wherein the set of images are captured inresponse to a person being detected in an area proximate to the camera;determining whether a number of images previously transmitted to amonitoring server over a time period does not satisfy a user-definedthreshold associated with a limit on a number of images transmissibleduring the time period; determining that an alarm event has beendetected during the time period during which the images were previouslytransmitted; determining to transmit one or more images included in theset of images to the monitoring server based on determining that thenumber of images previously transmitted to the monitoring server overthe time period does not satisfy the user-defined threshold associatedwith the limit on the number of images transmissible during the timeperiod during which the images were previously transmitted but the alarmevent has been detected during the time period during which the imageswere previously transmitted; and providing the one or more images fromthe camera and to the monitoring server during the time period.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: sensing a light level in an areaproximate to a location of the camera in the property; and determiningwhether to control the camera to capture a new image based on the lightlevel.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining to transmit the oneor more images comprises determining that the one or more images satisfyone or more security rules that control whether the one or more imagesare to be transmitted to the monitoring server.
 4. The method of claim1, further comprising: obtaining sensor data indicating an event sensedby one or more sensors located in the property; and determining totransmit one or more images comprises: selecting the one or more imagesfrom among the set of images that correspond to the event sensed by theone or more sensors, and determining to transmit the one or more imagesthat were selected to the monitoring server.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein the one or more sensors comprises: a passive infrared sensorconfigured to measure infrared light radiating from objects in an areaproximate to a location of the camera in the property; and a motionsensor configured to detect, based on the infrared light measured by thepassive infrared sensor, in the area proximate to the location of thecamera in the property.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:determining that network bandwidth associated with providing the one ormore images to the monitoring server exceeds a threshold networkbandwidth; and providing the one or more images from the camera and tothe monitoring server comprises: compressing the one or more imagesbased on determining that network bandwidth associated with providingthe one or more images to the monitoring server exceeds a thresholdnetwork bandwidth, and providing the one or more images that werecompressed to the monitoring server.
 7. The method of claim 1,comprising: determining that a combination of multiple events wasdetected prior to detection of the person; and based on determining thata combination of multiple events was detected prior to detection of theperson, obtaining the set of images captured by the camera located inthe property.
 8. A system comprising: one or more computing devices; andone or more storage devices storing instructions that, when executed bythe one or more computing devices, cause the one or more computingdevices to perform operations comprising: obtaining a set of imagescaptured by a camera located in a property, wherein the set of imagesare captured in response to a person being detected in an area proximateto the camera; determining whether a number of images previouslytransmitted to a monitoring server over a time period does not satisfy auser-defined threshold associated with a limit on a number of imagestransmissible during the time period; determining that an alarm eventhas been detected during the time period during which the images werepreviously transmitted; determining to transmit one or more imagesincluded in the set of images to the monitoring server based ondetermining that the number of images previously transmitted to themonitoring server over the time period does not satisfy satisfies theuser-defined threshold associated with the limit on the number of imagestransmissible during the time period during which the images werepreviously transmitted but the alarm event has been detected during thetime period during which the images were previously transmitted; andproviding the one or more images from the camera and to the monitoringserver during the time period.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein theoperations further comprise: sensing a light level in an area proximateto a location of the camera in the property; and determining whether tocontrol the camera to capture a new image based on the light level. 10.The system of claim 8, wherein determining to transmit the one or moreimages comprises determining that the one or more images satisfy one ormore security rules that control whether the one or more images are tobe transmitted to the monitoring server.
 11. The system of claim 8,wherein the operations further comprise: obtaining sensor dataindicating an event sensed by one or more sensors located in theproperty; and determining to transmit one or more images comprises:selecting the one or more images from among the set of images thatcorrespond to the event sensed by the one or more sensors, anddetermining to transmit the one or more images that were selected to themonitoring server.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or moresensors comprises: a passive infrared sensor configured to measureinfrared light radiating from objects in an area proximate to a locationof the camera in the property; and a motion sensor configured to detect,based on the infrared light measured by the passive infrared sensor, inthe area proximate to the location of the camera in the property. 13.The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:determining that network bandwidth associated with providing the one ormore images to the monitoring server exceeds a threshold networkbandwidth; and providing the one or more images from the camera and tothe monitoring server comprises: compressing the one or more imagesbased on determining that network bandwidth associated with providingthe one or more images to the monitoring server exceeds a thresholdnetwork bandwidth, and providing the one or more images that werecompressed to the monitoring server.
 14. At least one non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media storing instructions that, when executedby one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to performoperations comprising: obtaining a set of images captured by a cameralocated in a property, wherein the set of images are captured inresponse to a person being detected in an area proximate to the camera;determining whether a number of images previously transmitted to amonitoring server over a time period does not satisfy a user-definedthreshold associated with a limit on a number of images transmissibleduring the time period; determining that an alarm event has beendetected during the time period during which the images were previouslytransmitted; determining to transmit one or more images included in theset of images to the monitoring server based on determining that thenumber of images previously transmitted to the monitoring server overthe time period does not satisfy satisfies the user-defined thresholdassociated with the limit on the number of images transmissible duringthe time period during which the images were previously transmitted butthe alarm event has been detected during the time period during whichthe images were previously transmitted; and providing the one or moreimages from the camera and to the monitoring server during the timeperiod.
 15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim14, wherein the operations further comprise: sensing a light level in anarea proximate to a location of the camera in the property; anddetermining whether to control the camera to capture a new image basedon the light level.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedia of claim 14, wherein determining to transmit the one or moreimages comprises determining that the one or more images satisfy one ormore security rules that control whether the one or more images are tobe transmitted to the monitoring server.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media of claim 14, wherein the operationsfurther comprise: obtaining sensor data indicating an event sensed byone or more sensors located in the property; and determining to transmitone or more images comprises: selecting the one or more images fromamong the set of images that correspond to the event sensed by the oneor more sensors, and determining to transmit the one or more images thatwere selected to the monitoring server.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media of claim 17, wherein the one or moresensors comprises: a passive infrared sensor configured to measureinfrared light radiating from objects in an area proximate to a locationof the camera in the property; and a motion sensor configured to detect,based on the infrared light measured by the passive infrared sensor, inthe area proximate to the location of the camera in the property.